WB 04: Skirting the Solent

Progress

Progress has been very good this week, and I have managed to catch up the lost day and get back on schedule. I have travelled from Bosham, West Susses to Bournemouth, Dorset covering 132 miles.

Hardships

Due to the illness last week, I had a lot of admin to do both last rest day and during the week to alter the routes, pitch sites, accommodation so that I could start to catch up. This was an evolving process, and took a fair amount of time and a worry. Fortunately this didn't cause to many significant issues, and actually I have now got back on schedule.

Another aspect of the lost day was that I had to do a significant amount of mileage over 5 days rather than 6, in fact 132 miles. This mileage was at my limit, and though manageable is not something I would want to do to often as it doesn't allow for any contingency (path closures, diversions, weather, minor illness etc.) and I believe injuries could occur if I attempted this mileage to often.

The weather this week was not quite as bad as previous weeks(and what i would expect at this time of year), with 2 actually sunny days. Though there were 2 very wet and windy days, which though I am getting used to them are tiring.

Little Egret

Kingfisher

Common Shelduck

Kestrel

General

Getting Back on Schedule

Though it involved a lot of mileage over only 5 days, it is great to be back on schedule. This means my amount of admin is reduced going forward as I can revert back to the planned schedule and it makes it easier for people to arrange to meet me.

Body after a Month

Now that I have completed a month, and approximately 500 miles thought I would just mention how the body feels.

Feet - I have so far had no blisters, and though the feet can ache a little some evenings I have had no significant issues.

Ankles - I did have some moderate pain in my right ankle for the first two weeks, though over the last two weeks this has reduced to almost no pain at all.

Legs - In the past I have had issues with my knees, though fortunately on the walk so far I have had no issues at all with these. Apart from the past 2 days my legs have never felt to tired, though due to the increased mileage in past couple of days, the legs were definitely aching for the past 2 evenings.

Hips/waist- I take most of the weight of my backpack, through my hips. There has been some minor rubbing where the straps tighten but nothing to significant.

Back - stupidly I managed to tweak my lower back when I wasn't walking or wearing my backpack just by bending down to pick something up. This is not to bad, but more of an annoyance, and something that can seize a little bit after sitting down for a while in the evening.

Shoulders - fingers crossed I have had no issues with these so far.

Promotion

So far the walk and general admin have taken up all my time. But going forward I am going to be trying to do more promotion to try and raise as much money for the MHF as possible. I am going to get a poster for my backpack, as well as cards to hand to people when they ask about the walk. I may even get a little canvas flag. On top of this I am going to try and contact local and national papers to spread the word (if anyone works for a paper or has contacts within a certain paper that could help please do contact me.)

Accomodation

This week was another good week for accommodation with several friends living on route and a kind offer from a pub/B&B. Next week will be back to what I would expect with 4 or 5 nights under canvas.

Issue with Comments on Site

I have noticed a slight issue with the comments on blogs on the site, if you comment on the charleswalk.squarespace domain people on the charleswalk domain cannot read it and visa versa (I will be notified whatever one you comment on), otherwise there are no other issues. Therefore if possible would be best to access the site via https://www.charleswalk.com/.

Daily Diary

Please click links below to find out more detail about each specific day: